Tool assembly and method for installing an O-ring and bearing to a roller tube for cooking human food

ABSTRACT

A tool assembly and method are for mounting an O-ring and a bearing about a roller grill tube to cook human food in one embodiment has a first tool section for mounting with a tube, and a second tool section with an outer surface. A third tool section has a proximal end and a distal end which expands the O-ring and slides so that the O-ring and bearing locate about the second tool section. The second tool section slides so the bearing and O-ring seal about the tube.  
     In another embodiment, the tool comprises a spring member with first and second edges, and first and second ends. The tool is compressible to bias the spring outwardly to expand the O-ring outwardly when inserted therein. The inserted tube extends past the O-ring and bearing, and the tool is removed so the O-ring and bearing seal about the tube.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/103,645 filed Oct. 9, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to assemblies for cooking human food, andin particular to such assemblies that use heated tubes that arerotatably mounted to a housing so that food can be placed upon theroller tubes to be heated. The invention also relates to guard coversfor human food cooking assemblies so that germs such as from sneezing,and contaminants in the ambient air, are blocked from impinging upon thefood.

[0003] Heretofore, heating and cooking assemblies have used rotatableroller tubes for heating and cooking food. Roller tube cooking isespecially adaptable to heating and cooking products that have anelongated shape, such as hot dogs and wieners. In the prior art, theroller tubes had been mounted to the housing by bearings. However, theload exerted by the tube upon such bearings has caused deformation, andhas caused wear and tear upon the bearing so that grease and otherliquids have passed through the bearing seals to enter other parts ofthe housing such as the drive assembly of the housing.

[0004] Prior roller tube heating assemblies have used drive systems thathave employed a chain driven by a rotatable sprocket or gear. The chainhas been connected to sprockets or gears mounted at the ends of theroller tubes so that rotation of the drive sprocket or drive gearrotates the roller tubes. In the prior art, the roller heating tubeshave been mounted in a row horizontally relative to the housing, or insome cases, at an angle of about 15 degrees relative to the housing,with their central axes extending in a straight line. However, therehave been problems caused by the application of the drive chain forcefrom the drive member directly to pulling a roller tube. This hasresulted in distorting the end of that roller tube, and also indistorting the bearing with which the roller tube is mounted to allowgrease and liquids to pass by the bearing into enclosures such as intothe area housing the drive components.

[0005] Further, with roller tubes aligned at an angle of about 15°relative to the housing in the prior art, inconvenience has arisen in anoperator trying to serve food from the grill when the operator islocated at the end of the grill at the upper incline of the tubes.Additionally, with a 15° incline of the tubes, food products can rolldown toward the bottom of the tubes if they are bumped by a servinginstrument during the serving process or a rearrangement process.

[0006] A consideration in roller grills is conservation and distributionof the heat that is applied to the roller tubes. Prior heated rollertubes have had elongated, spiral heating elements covered by sheathes,which extend through the center of the tubes. However, because heat islost at the ends of the roller tubes, it is desirable to a greaterdistribution of heat at the ends of the tubes than in the center part ofthe tubes to provide a more uniform temperature along the entire rollertube. There is also a need to provide heat to the roller tubes so thatthe food products are maintained at a sanitary temperature of 140°Fahrenheit.

[0007] Previous food cooking heating assemblies have employed controlsfor controlling the supply of power, controlling the temperature of theroller tubes, controlling the heating time, and using display lights toindicate the state of control members. Such controls have been mountedon a control panel of a food cooking assembly. Such controls have beenexposed to view during operation, and also exposed to possibleimpingement or bumping by a person or by some object moved about theassembly, to change the setting of a control. In the prior art, drawersor containers have been used to store items such as buns or other foods,in proximity with a heating assembly.

[0008] Heretofore, guards have been used to cover food cooking andheating assemblies to help resist germs and contaminants from cominginto contact with the food located with a heating or cooking assembly.Such guards have been comprised of transparent material, such asplastic. In the prior art, such guards have had hinged components whichcan be lifted to allow access to the food under the guard cover. Aproblem with this type of unit has been that the operators using themhave, at times, lifted the component up to have access to the food, butnot returned the hinged member to a lower position to better cover thefood. Prior guards have had pass-through types of structure whereinthere are openings at the ends of the guard with a passage connectingthe openings. A problem with these guards is that one could sneeze orcough into the openings into the passage to contaminate the food, orother contaminants could float through the openings to contact the food.In the prior art, food guards have used openings covered by flaps withthe guard structure including a rigid ledge connecting the bottom partof the guard beneath the opening. A problem with these types of guardsis that the ledge at the bottom of the opening hinders accessibility tofood and makes it more difficult to see the food.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention improves over the prior art and provides anumber of advantages for heating and cooking human food, and forprotecting the food from contaminants. The present invention provides adrive system for rotating tubular rollers used for heating and cookingfoods. The invention provided a means for driving the roller tubes torotate relative to the housing which include a drive member mounted tothe housing and driven by a power source such as a motor. The rollertubes are provided with driving engagement structure such as a sprocketor a gear. The roller tubes are aligned in a group so that there is aroller tube at each end of the group. The invention firther provides anidler member that includes a sprocket, gear, or the like, mounted withthe housing as by a stud. Drive linkage such as a drive chain isdrivingly connected with the drive member, with the roller tube driveengagement structure, and with the idler member. The connection is suchthat the direction of movement of the drive linkage is that the drivemember pulls the linkage so that the linkage moves from the engagementwith the roller tubes toward and about the idler member, and thence fromthe idler member to the drive member. In other words, the drive memberis pulling the linkage in the direction from the idler member toward thedrive member without any tubular heating members located in between.This arrangement thus allows the pulling force that is transmitted bythe linkage from the drive member to be directly transmitted to theidler member, rather than directly transmitted to the end of one of theroller tubes. The force applied by the linkage against the idler memberis transferred to the housing. After the linkage passes from the idlermember to the drive member, it extends about the drive member to movenext to engagement with the engagement means of the roller tubes.Reinforcing structure, such as a strut with an opening to allow passageof the linkage, can also be used in mounting the idler member to thehousing to better withstand the forces of the drive linkage exertedabout it, and to resist distortion of the idler member and its mounting.

[0010] The invention also provides a bearing sealing assembly formounting the individual roller tubes in a food cooking assembly. Thesealing assembly comprises a bearing member and an annular sealingmember. The bearing member has a bore that receives the roller tubetherethrough. The bore has a section with an annular shape to receivethe annular sealing member. In the preferred embodiment, the annularmember is an O-ring with an outer curved surface, and the bearing boresection that receives the O-ring has a similar curved surface, so thatwhen the O-ring is expanded to fit about the roller tube, the O-ringouter surface rests against the conforming surface of the bore section.The bearing member can also be provided with an annular rim section witha flat surface that engages a flat surface of the housing. The bearingcan further have a sleeve that extends throughout an opening in the wallof the housing, with an outwardly projecting flange extending from thesleeve on the other side of the wall so as to engage the wall.

[0011] The invention further provides for a tool and a method formounting the bearing fittings and sealing members. The tool has a firstsection of cylindrical shape which is telescopically received within anend of a roller tube. The tool has a second section extending from thefirst section, which second section has a cylindrical outer surface.That cylindrical outer surface of the second section is about the samediameter as the roller tube outer surface. The shoulder at the junctureat the first and second tool sections can be placed to abut the end ofthe roller tube so that the surface of the second tool section isaligned and substantially continuous with the outer surface of theroller tube. The tool has a third section that extends from the secondsection. The third section is tapered with a proximal end that adjoinsthe second section. The third tool section has a distal end with adiameter less than that of the proximal end so that the third sectionhas a tapered shape sized to extend through the annular sealing member,or O-ring. Preferably the third section has a frusto-conical shape. Toinstall the bearing sealing members, the bearing and the annular member,such as the O-ring can be mounted with the food grill housing. Theroller tube with the mounted tool are then moved to allow the taperedend of the tool to pass through the annular sealing member, so that theannular member has its inner surface in contact with the tapered surfaceof the third section. The tube and tool are continued to be movedthrough the annular member and bearing so that the annular memberexpands as it slides along the tool's tapered third section until theannular member is positioned about the second section of the tool. Whenthis occurs, the annular member has been stretched so that its outersurface fits against the conforming surface of the bearing bore section.The tool and the tube are continued to be slid through the sealingmember and bearing until the inner surface of the annular sealing memberfits about the tube outer surface to seal thereagainst. A lubricant canbe added to the surface of the third tool section prior to inserting itwithin the annular member.

[0012] In another embodiment of a tool and method for mounting thebearing fittings and sealing members, a tool comprising a spring havinga slotted cylindrical shape is provided. The bearing and sealing membercan be mounted with an opening in the grill housing. The spring tool canthen be inserted within the sealing member and bearing to exert outwardforce against the sealing member to stretch it and press it so that itsouter surface fits against the conforming surface of the bearing boresection. Preferably, the tool is inserted through the bearing andsealing member from the side of the housing frame that is opposite theside from which the roller tube is inserted. With the tool so installed,the tubular heating member can be inserted from a position on the sideof the housing frame opposite the side of insertion of the spring tooland moved within the spring tool. The spring tool in its insertedposition in the O-ring has an inside diameter that is slightly greaterthan the outside diameter of the roller tube. After the roller tube endis inserted to extend beyond the bearing and sealing member, the springtool can be grasped by the operator, and pulled away from the bearingand sealing member, thus leaving the roller tube inserted through thesealing member and bearing so that the roller tube exerts force againstthe sealing member to hold it in position within the bearing boresection. The roller tube can continue to be inserted until it passes tothe point to be inserted through an aligned hole in the frame on theother side of the housing. The same method of inserting the tool withinthe bearing and sealing member in the other frame can then be employed.

[0013] As to another feature of the invention, the housing is providedwith a control panel upon which controls, such as for controlling powerto heating members, controlling the temperature of the heaters, and thetime for heating, are mounted. A cover is mounted with the housing topivot from a first position to cover the control panel, to a secondposition which exposes the controls for operation. A pin can be mountedwith the cover and the housing with a biasing means, such as a spiralspring, used to bias the pin to engage the cover and the housing. In oneembodiment, the cover has structure providing two aligned holes. The pinhas a shaft section that fits through a first hole. The shaft extendsinto an enlarged shoulder that abuts structure about the second hole.The shoulder extends into an engagement section that passes through thesecond hole. The biasing means, such as a spring, has a first endabutting the pin shoulder and a second end abutting the cover structureabout the first hole, so that the biasing member biases the pin shoulderto push the pin engagement section into a hole in the housing structure.

[0014] In another embodiment, the cover mounting means comprises aspring which has two legs that are joined by a bight. A boss extendsfrom the first leg. The cover has first structure, such as a tab, with ahole therein, sized to receive the spring boss. The cover has a secondstructure, such as a pin, against which the second spring leg can abut.The spring legs are compressed so that the second leg abuts the secondstructure and the boss of the first leg passes through the hole of thefirst structure so that the boss is biased by the spring action in anoutward direction. The boss can be installed to be inserted with a holein the housing of conforming shape so that the cover can pivot relativeto the housing.

[0015] The roller tubes can further be mounted so that their centralaxes are aligned to extend at an angle of about 3° to 5° relative to thehousing. The central axis of the idler member of the drive assembly canalso be aligned with the axes of the roller tubes as part of thealignment of from about 3° to 5°. The 3° to 5° alignment of the rollertubes allows for a convenient arrangement so that operator has a goodview of the food items cooked upon the roller grill from the operator'sprimary work point. Additionally, the operator can serve food items fromthe opposite ends of the housing wherein the elevation of the rollers ishigher. The 3° to 5° elevation is of a lesser incline than the 15°incline known in the prior art, so as to be less likely to encounter aproblem of food items rolling down the 3° to 5° incline if they areinadvertently bumped or struck by a serving instrument.

[0016] The invention further features cover structure mounted to theframes of the housing about the ends of the roller tubes. One of thesecover structures can act to cover the sprockets or other engagementmeans at the ends of the roller tubes as well as cover the linkage orchain of the drive assembly. The cover structures act to block heat lossfrom the ends of the roller tubes. The cover structure on each of thehousing frames adjacent the roller tubes also provides a means formounting the heating members that extend through the roller tubes.Openings can be provided through the structure to receive ends of theheating members to support same. The heating members can have a heatingelement with a wound spiral configuration. The spacing between each ofthe spiral winds is more compact at the ends of the element than in thecenter.

[0017] Moreover, a feature of the invention is providing the housingwith a compartment for storing food items such as buns, or other things,within the housing. The housing has a cavity with interior structure.The compartment can be slidably mounted relative to the housing interiorstructure. The compartment has a pair of tracks which are mounted towardtheir fronts to a cover. A transverse structural connection between thetracks can also be made. The tracks fit with members associated with thehousing interior structure to slide relative thereto. In the preferredembodiment, roller wheels fitting within channel-shaped tracks areprovided. A pan is shaped to be supported by compartment structure, suchas the tracks or structure connectors. The pan can have a grippingsection and be removable. The compartment can be slid to a closedposition wherein the pan is contained within the housing cavity and thecover acts to cover the controls on the control panel. In a secondposition, the handle of the cover is pulled to pull the cover away fromthe control panel so that the controls are exposed for operation, and sothe pan can be removed from the compartment. The heat from the heatingmeans can pass through the housing structure, such as the wallstructure, to warm the buns or other items in the compartment, when thecompartment is in the closed position.

[0018] Additionally, a feature of the invention is a guard for coveringfood that is located or associated with a housing. The cover has firstand second legs and a top section. An opening can be provided at thefront and rear of the guard. The openings at both the front and the rearare such that they extend downward to the bottom of the legs so that thelower ends of the opening are not blocked by any connecting structure.Flaps can be pivotally mounted to both openings. The flaps can have lugswhich fit within voids in the guard structure. In a preferredembodiment, the lugs are toward the tops of the flaps, and the openingsare in comer sections adjacent the openings. The front and rear flapscan rest on the structure about the front and rear ends, respectively,that resist further pivotal movement. The bottom of the guard can beformed with structure that fits over part of the housing to resistmovement of the guard relative to the housing. In a preferredembodiment, horizontal ledges can be provided at the bottom of thesides, with depending structure fitting about the sides of the housing.Each flap can have a handle section. The guard can be made oftransparent plastic so that the operator has a better view of thecontents that are with the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The objects of the invention are achieved as set forth in theillustrative embodiments shown in the drawings which form a part of thespecification. In the drawings:

[0020]FIG. 1 is an orthogonal projection of the roller grill assembly ofthe invention;

[0021]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the assembly of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the left side of the assembly ofFIG. 1;

[0024]FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the assembly of FIG. 1, with thefront cover panel shown in the downward position;

[0025]FIG. 6 is a top elevation of the assembly of FIG. 1, with thesneeze guard cover removed;

[0026]FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the right side of the assembly asviewed to the right of FIG. 1, with the sneeze guard cover removed, andwith the right side outer wall disassembled and removed;

[0027]FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the left side of the assembly asviewed to the left of FIG. 1, with the sneeze guard cover removed, andwith the left side outer wall disassembled and removed;

[0028]FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the left side of the assembly asviewed to the left of FIG. 1, as in FIG. 8, but with the geartrain coverand heating element connections also removed;

[0029]FIG. 10 is a section of the assembly of the invention with thesneeze guard cover removed, taken on the line 10-10 of FIG. 6;

[0030]FIG. 11 is an orthogonal projection of a part of one of thecooking roller tubes, with a bearing ring and O-ring mounted near theend thereof;

[0031]FIG. 11A is an exploded view of a bearing and an O-ring, and anO-ring and bearing mounting assembly shown engaged with a roller tube,with the tube shown in section;

[0032]FIG. 11B is a view showing the installation of an O-ring andbearing with the mounting tool engaged to a roller tube shown insection;

[0033]FIG. 11C is a sectional view showing the bearing cover and O-ringmounted about a roller tube, with the bearing installed with an interiorside wall of the assembly;

[0034]FIG. 12 is a view, partially in section, showing a mounting pinfor the front cover engaged with an inside wall of the roller grill;

[0035]FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a heating element for a rollertube;

[0036]FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a roller of the invention;

[0037]FIG. 15 is a side elevation, shown broken, with the sneeze guardcover mounted, and with the flaps shown pivoted upwardly;

[0038]FIG. 16 is an orthogonal projection of an alternative embodimentof the roller grill assembly of the invention, with the sneeze guardcover removed;

[0039]FIG. 17 is an orthogonal projection of another alternativeembodiment, with the front cover panel shown extended frontwardly, andwith a compartment connected therewith in view;

[0040]FIG. 18 is a section of the alternative embodiment of the assemblyof FIG. 17, illustrating the mounting of the movable compartment;

[0041]FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of the circuitry for the assembly;

[0042]FIG. 20 is an isolated view of a spring ensemble with boss for analternative embodiment of the means to pivotally mount the cover;

[0043]FIG. 21 is a side elevation showing an alternative embodiment of acover for use with the spring ensemble of FIG. 20;

[0044]FIG. 22 is a partial rear elevation view of the cover isolatedfrom the assembly, showing the spring ensemble installed with the cover;and

[0045]FIG. 23 is an exploded view showing an alternative embodiment of atool and method for mounting a roller tube with a bearing fitting andO-ring, with the tool being shown toward the outside of the housingframe member depicted for purposes of clarity, rather than on the insideof that frame member, which is the preferable direction of insertion ofthe tool into the O-ring and bearing fitting.

[0046] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0047] The following detailed description illustrates the invention byway of example and not by way of limitation. This description willclearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, anddescribes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives anduses of the invention, including what we presently believe is the bestmode of carrying out the invention. As various changes could be made inthe above constructions without departing from the scope of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

[0048] Overall General Description

[0049] First, an overall general description will be given. Withreference to FIGS. 1-15 of the drawings, the roller grill assembly forcooking human food is generally designated 20. The assembly 20 generallycomprises a main housing 24, upon which are mounted a plurality ofrotatable tubular cooking members 26, including tube heating members 28;roller tube sealing subassemblies 30, a roller tube drive assembly 32,including a strategically positioned idler sprocket or gear 36; acontrol assembly 38, a control panel cover 40, and a sneeze guard cover42.

[0050] The housing 24 comprises a central horizontal base sheet 44 (FIG.10) and two generally rectangular side support frames 46 and 48. Each ofthe side support frames 46 and 48 are made of a rigid material such asstainless steel and can be stamped so that they each have interior sidewalls 50 and 52, respectively. The base sheet 44 has depending sideflanges such as indicated as 54 in FIG. 10 which are secured as byscrews to the side frame interior walls 50 and 52. The front end of basesheet 44 extends into an integral U-shaped channel 58, while the rear ofthe sheet 44 extends in a smaller integral U-shaped channel 60. Sheet 44can have vent holes (not shown) formed therethrough for allowing aircirculation from the exterior to within the interior of the housing 24.

[0051] The housing 24 further comprises an integral L-shaped member 64,formed of rigid material, illustrated in this preferred embodiment to beof stainless steel. The L-member 64 has a rear wall 66 which extendsdownwardly into a horizontal flanged foot 68 that is secured to thebottom of base channel 60 as by screws 70. The L-shaped housing member64 further comprises a horizontal wall 74 that extends forwardly fromthe top of rear wall 66. At the front of horizontal wall 74 is anintegral U-shaped channel 76. The walls 66 and 74 both have inwardlyextending side flanges (not shown) that are flush with the frame sidewalls 50 and 52 and secured thereto by screws, rivets and/or spotwelding. A separate grease drip tray 78 can rest on wall 74 beneath theroller tubes 26 to catch grease and fluids dripping therefrom.

[0052] Towards its front, the housing 24 comprises a control panel 80which has a middle wall section 82 that extends rearwardly at an angleof about 15° to 20° relative to the base 44. Extending rearwardly fromthe bottom of the panel wall 82 is a horizontal flanged foot 84, whichis secured as by screws to base sheet 44. Projecting forwardly from thetop of panel wall 80 is a horizontal flange 88 that is secured as byscrews to the bottom of U-channel 76. The panel wall 82 has rearwardlyextending flanges (not shown) which are secured as by screws to the sideframe interior walls 50 and 52.

[0053] The control assembly 38 comprises temperature controls 92 and 94,with knobs 93 and 95 respectively, for controlling the temperature ofthe roller tubes, as will be later described. The knobs 93 and 95 arerotatably mounted to the control panel wall 82. Mounted to panel wall 82between each of the knobs 93 and 95 is an on/off switch 96. The controlassembly 38 farther comprises pilot lights 97 and 98 mounted above eachof the control knobs 93 and 95, respectively, for indicating when therespective controls 92 and 94 are activated. The controls 92 and 94regulate the flow of electrical current to the heating members 28located within the roller tubes 26, as will be later described.

[0054] Now a more specific discussion of the side frame 48 is given.Extending outwardly from the front and rear edges of frame interior sidewall 52 are front facing frame wall 104 and rear facing frame wall 106,respectively. Control assembly 38 also comprises a pilot light 107mounted on frame front wall 104. Front frame wall 104 and rear framewall 106, each have projecting from their outer edge a channel 108 and110, respectively, with inwardly extending lip flanges 112 and 114projecting respectively from the channels 108 and 110 at their ends Afloor frame wall 120 extends outwardly from the bottom of frame interiorwall 52, and has at its outer end an upwardly extending flange 122. Apair of cylindrical legs 124 are secured to floor wall 120 as bythreaded bolts extending through holes in wall 120, with a nut on theinterior of wall 120. A frame top wall 126 projects horizontally fromthe upper edge of frame side wall 52. A vertical flange 128 depends fromthe outer edge of top wall 126.

[0055] The structure of left side frame 46 is a mirror image of that ofside frame 48. Front and rear walls 130 and 132 project from the frontand rear edges of side wall 50, respectively. Front and rear walls 130and 132 have respective channels 134 and 136, having end lip flanges 138and 140, respectively. A horizontal floor wall 142 extends from thebottom of wall 50, and has an upwardly extending flange 144. A pair ofcylindrical legs 146 are secured to floor wall 142 in the same fashionas described for floor wall 120. From the top edge of side wall 50projects a top wall 150 with a depending flange 152.

[0056] Secured within each of the support frames 46 and 48, to the sideframe walls 50 and 52, are structural reinforcement channels 154 and156, respectively. Each channel extends at an angle of about 70°relative to the frame floor walls 120 and 142, respectively, and aresecured to the side walls 50 and 52 as by spot welding. The channel 154has a flat central section that fits flush against wall 50, and two sideflanges 157 and 158. Channel 156 differs from channel 154. Channel 156has a flat central section 159 that fits flush against wall 50, and hasa front flange 160. Channel 156 has a pair of angled extensions 161 and162 that project from the rear edge of section 159, with an opening 163formed between extensions 161 and 162.

[0057] Each of the frame side walls 50 and 52 have a plurality of holeswhich are aligned at an angle of about 3° to 5° relative to thehorizontal frame floor walls 120 and 142. These holes are for mountingthe rotatable cooking tubes 26 with the tube sealing subassemblies 30.Toward this end, each of the said holes is provided with a roller tubesealing subassembly 30. Each subassembly 30, as shown in FIGS. 11, 11A,11B and 11C, comprises a bearing fitting 164 and an O-ring 166. Thebearing 164 has an outer cylindrical sleeve 168 having a cylindricalbore 170. The cylindrical sleeve section 168 extends inwardly towardsthe center of the tube 26 into an annular rim section 174 which has aflat annular outer surface 176 and a curved, tapered inner surface 178.

[0058] The cylindrical bore 170 extends inwardly into a bore section 180that has an arcuate semi-circular surface 182 shaped to receive theouter curved surface of O-ring 166. The bore section 180 then extendsinto an inner bore section 183 of about the same diameter as bore 170.

[0059] Each roller tube sealing subassembly 30 is mounted to roller tube26 in a manner to be described, so that the subassembly fits about theroller tube such as shown in FIGS. 11 and 11C. In this installedposition the tube 26, as illustrated in FIG. 11C, has the inner surfaceof the O-ring 166 fitting flush against the outer surface 184 of tube26. The bearing flat outer surface 176 fits flush against the outsidesurface of frame member 50. Cylindrical bearing section 168 extendsthrough its corresponding hole in frame side wall 50. The outer edge ofcylindrical bearing section 168 can have an annular flange 185 to fitagainst the interior surface of side wall 50. Flange 185 can have anantirotation notch 186 that can interlock with a tab (not shown) in wall52 as known in the art. One such tab 185 is shown in FIGS. 11A-11C. Thetabs 185 are spaced from one another so that when they are pressedthrough the holes in side walls 50 and 52, they expand outwardly to helpanchor the bearings 164 to the side walls 50 and 52. The bearing fitting164 can be of plastic such as polytetrafluoroethylene. The O-ring 166can be of rubber like material such as silicone rubber.

[0060] The roller tubes 26 illustrated in the drawings have cylindricalend sections 194 at their left ends as viewed looking at FIGS. 1, 2 and6, while at their right ends, each of the roller tubes has formedintegrally therewith a sprocket or gear 196 which is part of the rollertube drive assembly 32. Drive assembly 32 further comprises a drivingsprocket 198 which is drivingly engaged with a shaft of motor 200. Motor200 is mounted by known means to the frame side wall 52 such as by nutsand bolts. The drive assembly 32 further comprises the strategicallymounted idler sprocket or gear 36. The sprocket 36 is mounted to theframe side wall 52 and to the channel 156 as by a stud 204 that ismounted to side wall 52 and through the central channel wall 159. Thedrive assembly also comprises drive chain 208. Drive chain 208 extendsfrom the drive sprocket 198 through the opening 163 in channel 156 on toidler sprocket 204 and thence to the tube sprockets 196 as shownspecifically in FIG. 9.

[0061] The idler sprocket 36 is mounted so that its mounting screw orbolt 204 is aligned with the axis of the roller tubes 26. As seen inFIG. 9, the central axis of the plurality of roller tubes 26 are alignedso that together an imaginary line extending through said central axesand idler sprocket is at an angle of about 3° to 5° relative to thehousing base wall 44 and also relative to the frame floor walls 120 and142. The angle of the tubes 26 can be in the opposite direction ifdesired, depending upon the desired placement of the assembly fordisplay and use. In operation, the motor drives the chain 208 in thedirection of the arrows in FIG. 9 so that idler sprocket 36 and rollertube sprockets 196 are rotated to rotate the tubes 26. As can be seen inFIG. 9, the use of the idler gear 36 allows the drive force appliedthrough chain 208 in the direction of the idler sprocket 36 toward thedrive sprocket 198, to be applied against the idler sprocket 36, andhence to side frame 48, rather than against one of the sprockets 196 ofa roller tube 26. This thus reduces wear and tear against any bearingsused to mount the roller tubes 26, and against the roller tubes 26 andtheir sprockets 196 as well. The mounting of the idler gear 36 to thestructural reinforcement channel 156 also helps to provide increasedstability and resistance against the driving force of the chain 208. Thereduction of the likelihood of distortion of the bearings, such asillustrated as bearings 164, thus helps to minimize or eliminate theflow of grease and the like from the area about the cooking surface ofthe roller tubes 26 located to the interior of the side walls 50 and 52,into the interior of the side frames 46 and 48 which could form grimeand grit and the like about the drive system or heating system, and tootherwise congregate to form debris and potentially unsanitaryconditions.

[0062] The idler sprocket 36 further provides better use of a singlemotor since a single motor would be applying more force than would beapplied by each dual motor in a dual motor arrangement.

[0063] The idler sprocket 36 as well as the roller tube sprockets 196can be covered by a protective plate 209 which also serves as a supportfor the tube heating members 28. Plate 209, as seen in FIG. 8, comprisesa channel section with a middle wall section 210 spaced from wall 52,and a pair of channel flanges (not shown) projecting from the edges ofwall 210 to be perpendicular to side wall 52, and thence extend intoflanges 211 and 212, which fit flush against the outer surface of sidewall 52. Nuts and bolts 213 secure the flanges 211 and 212 to side wall52. The cover plate section 210 at its ends has trapezoidal extensions214 and 215 which are spaced from wall 52. Trapezoid section 214 coversthe idler sprocket 36 with stud 204 extending through a holetherethrough. Section 214 also covers a part of the chain 208 locatedbetween the idler sprocket 36 and drive sprocket 198. The cover platesection 215 also covers part of the chain 208 between the drive sprocket198 and the rearmost roller tube 26.

[0064] Looking now at the left side frame 46, there is also protectivecovering mounted to the interior side of side wall 50 to cover the ends194 of tubes 26 and to also serve as mounting support for tube heatingmembers 28. A pair of stepped cover plates 216 and 217 have flange platesections 216 a and 217 a, respectively, which are secured by nuts andbolts 216 b and 217 b, respectively, to side wall 50. Plate sections 216a and 216 b have outwardly projecting channel-like flanges (not shown)that project perpendicular to side wall 50 and thence extend into platesections 216 c and 217 c that are parallel to the plane of wall 50 andlie in the same plane relative to each other. Arcuate notches are on theedges of the sections 216 c and 217 c, so that when fitted together asshown in FIG. 7, openings 217 d are formed thereby to receive the endsof the tube heating members 28. The cover plates 216 and 217 act toreflect heat emanating from the tube ends 194 and the ends adjacent endsof the heating members 28, so as to better retain heat within tubes 26and especially to maintain the heat level near the tube ends 194.

[0065] The tube heating member 28 is mounted within each of the heatingtubes 26 to be centered to extend along the axis of each tube 26. Eachmember 28 comprises an outer heat conducting cylindrical sheath 220 ofsuitable material such as stainless steel. Located within sheath 220 isan electrical heating element 222 having a general spiral or helicalconfiguration. Heat dispersing material 223, such as magnesium oxidepowder, can surround the coil 222 to fill the remaining space withinsheath 220. As can be seen in FIG. 13, the spacing between each of thespiral or helical winds is more compact at the outer sections 224 and226 of the heating element 222, than in the central part of the coil 228located between sections 224 and 226. The member 38 can have angledelectrical contacts 230 and 232 connected to the straight outer coldpins 231 and 233 which are unheated pins that are connected to the outerends of element sections 224 and 226, as seen in FIG. 13. The morecompact spacing between the windings in sections 224 and 226 provide forgreater wattage and thus more intense heating at the ends of the sheath220 and hence a more intense distribution of heat at the outer ends ofthe roller tubes 26, than for the inner part of the roller tube 26positioned along the less compact coil section 228. The compact natureof the windings in sections 224 and 226 is exaggerated for illustration,while the actual spacing density would gradually increase from the outerends of sections 224 and 226 toward the center of midsection 228. Thisarrangement of providing more intense heat at the ends of the rollertubes 26 helps to compensate for heat lost at the open ends of theroller tubes which are mounted within the frames 46 and 48 and also lostby conduction through pins used to mount the heating element 222. Mountstrips 233 a having holes therethrough receive the sheathes 220 and canbe secured thereto as by staking or crimping. The mount strips 233 fitflush against cover plate midsection 210 and can be secured thereto byscrews 234 as seen in FIG. 8. The cover plate 209 acts to reflect heatemanating from the tube sprockets 196 and the adjacent ends of tubes 26as well as from the adjoining ends of heating members 28 to betterretain heat within tubes 26, and especially maintain the heat level nearthe ends of the tubes 26 adjacent sprockets 196.

[0066] Focusing now on the control panel cover 40 positioned toward thefront of housing 20, as seen, for example, in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 10, thecover 40 comprises a flat central section 250 which extends upwardlyinto an angled section 252. Section 252 thence bends forwardly into ahandle portion 254. Handle 254 has a forwardly projecting section 256and a downwardly projecting section 258, so that handle 254 generallyprojects downwardly for a hook-type gripping area. A flange 259 projectsrearwardly from the bottom edge of section 250.

[0067] Means are provided for detachably mounting the cover 40 to thehousing 24. At the lower end of the outer edges of cover section 250 area pair of integral tabs 260 which have holes therethrough for receivingcorresponding mounting pins 262, as seen more clearly for one pin 262 inFIG. 12. To the inside of cover section 250 are L-shaped mount brackets264 each having an arm 266 with a hole therethrough that is aligned witha hole in tab 260 to receive a corresponding lock pin 262. The foot 268of each L-bracket 264 is secured to the inside of wall 250 as by spotwelding. Each pin 262 has a shaft section 270 which can be of {fraction(3/16)} inch diameter. Section 270 extends into an enlarged cylindricalshoulder section 272 which has an annular surface 274. Shoulder section272 then extends into an cylindrical bulb distal section 278 having atapered end. Bulb section 278 is of smaller diameter than shouldersection 272. The fit of bulb 278 within the hole in tab 260 istelescopically snug. A pin biasing means, illustrated as a spiral spring280, has its distal end abutting against pin shoulder surface 274 andits proximal end abutting bracket arm 266 as seen in FIG. 12. The spring280 thus applies force against the pin shoulder surface 274 to bias pin262 into a lock hole 286 located in each of the frame side walls 50 and52 toward the bottom thereof, as seen in FIG. 12 for wall 50. Thebracket arm 266 is spaced about one inch from tab 260. The holereceiving the pin shaft 270 is of larger diameter, such as ¼ inch, thanthe diameter of shaft 270. This permits the pin 262 to be installed bypassing the proximal pin end on shaft 270 through the larger hole inbracket arm 270 to compress spring 280 so that the entire bulb section278 fits inside tab 260. The bulb end 278 can then be swung to alignmentwith the hole in tab 260 so that the spring 280 urges the bulb 278through the hole in tab 260. The bracket arm 266 and tab 260 can bespaced about one inch apart. This releasable pin mounting allows thecover 40 to pivot relative to the side frames 46 and 48 to a downwardposition such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 10 phantom lines in FIG. 10) to aclosed position such as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and in solid lines inFIG. 10. The releasable pin mounting allows the pin bulb section 278 tobe easily retracted from its corresponding wall 50 and 52, so that thecover 40 can be disengaged from the housing 24.

[0068] The front surface 264 of cover 40 can have artwork, writing,insignias and designs thereon, such as illustrated as 281 in FIG. 3, tooperate as a promotional display for the products, such as hot dogs,cooked on the roller grill, or to provide other information oraesthetics. As seen in the drawings, when the cover 40 is in the closedposition, such as FIGS. 3 and 10, it covers up the controls of thecontrol assembly 38, and also blocks the front view of the drip tray 78,to provide for a more attractive and aesthetic display.

[0069] The modification of FIG. 16 is similar to that of FIGS. 1-15,except the angle of inclination of the roller tubes 26 a′ is reversedfrom that of FIGS. 1-15. In FIG. 16, the higher end of elevation of theroller tubes 26 a′ is toward the front of assembly 20 a′ at the same endwhere the control panel 40 a′ is located. This assembly 20 a′ can beused in cases where the person serving and moving the food will belocated more to the rear of the assembly.

[0070] Now attention is directed to the modifications of FIGS. 17-18.FIGS. 17-18 show a modified assembly 20′ which has side frames 46′ and48′ as heretofore described. The modification of FIGS. 17-18 differsfrom that of FIGS. 1-15 in that assembly 40′ has a concealed compartmentassembly 300 which allows for storage of food items such as buns, andfurther provides such food items be heated from the warmth of the heatedroller tubes 26. The assembly 20′ has a cover 40′ of the sameconfiguration as cover 40 as to the shape of the handle 254′, as well assections 252′, 250′ and 259′. The front of cover 40′ can have artwork,insignia, writing and designs such as illustrated as 281 for cover 40.The rear of cover section 252′ has secured to its rear side a pair ofchannel-shaped track members 304 and 306. A plurality of rotatableroller wheels 308 are mounted to the exterior side of side wall 50′ ofside frame 46′, such as by nuts and bolts. The control panel 80′ ofassembly 20′ is located to the right side of the assembly 20′ as shownin FIGS. 17-18. The control panel mid-wall section 82′ has a wall 312projecting rearwardly from the left side thereof, as seen in FIG. 17,the bottom edge of which extends into a flange that is secured as byscrews (not shown) to the base sheet 44′. Rotatable roller wheels 316are mounted as by nuts and bolts to wall 312. As seen in FIG. 18, theroller wheels 308 and 316 fit within the tracks 304 and 306,respectively, so that the tracks 304 and 306 can roll along wheels 308and 316. A cross strut 319 has flanges at its outer ends that aresecured to the vertical walls of tracks 304 and 306 as by spot welding.A removable pan 320 is supported by the tracks 304 and 306. The pan 320has a bottom 322 and upstanding side walls 324 and 326, which at theirupper ends, extend outwardly into flanged rim sections 328 and 330. Theflanges 328 and 330 rest on the tops of channel tracks 304 and 316, asseen in FIG. 18, to be supported thereby. Pan 320 likewise has a rearwall 334 with flange 336 that rests on the top of strut 319. Pan 320 hasa front wall which also has a flanged rim. The tracks 304 and 306, andcross strut 319 form a rigid structure with cover 40′.

[0071] When the cover 40′ is moved to and fro relative to the sideframes 46′ and 48′, the tracks 304 and 306 roll upon the rollers 308 and316 to allow the pan 320 to be exposed such as shown in FIG. 17. Thisallows buns and other food items to be easily removed therefrom. Whenthe cover 40′ is moved to the closed position, such as shown in FIG. 16,the buns and the like within the pan can be warmed from the radiant heatfrom heated tubes 26, as well as from conductive heat conducted throughthe side frames 46′ and 48′ through the cover and the other housingmembers located about the pan 320. When closed, the cover 40′ blocks theview of the control panel and of the drip tray 78.

[0072] Turning now to the installation of the O-rings 166 and thebearing fittings 164, an illustration is provided with FIGS. 11-11C. Aspecial mounting tool 400 is provided. Tool 400 has a centralcylindrical section 402 that is approximately the same diameter as theoutside diameter of tube 26 so that the surface thereof can be alignedwith the tube surface 184 as shown in FIGS. 11A-11B. Tool section 402extends to the right in the drawings into a smaller cylindrical section404 that can be telescopically slid within the tube 26 with its outersurface sliding along the inner surface 409 of tube 26, to be receivedin the position such as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Toward the otherend, tool midsection 402 extends into a tapered section 406 which has aflat end surface 408. Tool 400 can be constructed of rigid material suchas aluminum.

[0073] The use of the tool 400 allows installation of the O-ring andbearing fitting without the inconvenience of the O-ring popping out ofthe mount bearing. In use, a lubricant, such as a silicone lubricant,can be applied to the surface of tool section 406. The bearing 164 isinstalled in a hole in wall 50. The O-ring is then placed within thebearing bore section 180. The tool 400 is then installed to fit with atube 26 as described for FIGS. 11A-11B. The tube 26 and tool 400 arethen moved toward the bearing 164 and O-ring 166 until the O-ringextends about tool section 402 (FIG. 11B). From that location the tube26 and tool 400 can continue to be moved so that as the O-ring 166slides beyond the tool midsection 402, it smoothly slides upon theroller tube outer surface 184 without bumping or dragging against theend of the tube 26. The surface of tubes 26 can be coated with a layer410 of chrome alloy as known in the art or by a layer of an appropriatePTFE material (polymer of tetrafluoroethylene), on a steel tube 411.

[0074] The side frames 46 and 48 are enclosed by the mounting ofenclosure panel 412. A description of mounting panel 412 to frame 46suffices to describe that to frame 48. The panel 412 has an inwardlyextending perimeter flange. The top of panel 412 fits behind frameflange 152. The side ends of panel 412 fit against flanges 138 and 140.The bottom of panel 412 fits against the outside of flange 144 and issecured thereto as by screws.

[0075] The electrical circuitry 450 for the assembly is depicted in FIG.19. The tube heating members 28 are illustrated with the electricalconnections divided into two branches. The rear group of five tubeheating members 28 corresponds to the five rearwardly located rollertubes 26 as viewed looking in the drawings, and the front groupcomprising six heating members 28 corresponds with the front six rollertubes 26 in the drawings. The temperature controls 92 and 94 areillustrated. The controls 92 and 94 can be infinite controls such asmanufactured by E.G.O. ELEKTRO-GERATEBAU GmbH, Model No. 50.59130.Controls 92 and 94 provide a more linear range of adjustment in thedesired food holding range of 15% to 50% of rated input. The electricalplug 452 and the connections 454 from the cord to the internal wiring ofthe assembly are illustrated. A plug 458 and receptacle 460 for foreignuse are also illustrated. The wiring from the main switch, or powerswitch, 96 to the temperature controls 92 and 94 and to the motor 200 isillustrated as well. The pilot lights 97 and 98 are electricallyconnected to the controls 92 and 94 so that said pilot lights are litwhen their corresponding temperature controls 92 and 94 are in the “on”position to any degree. The power light 107, illustrated as being to thefront of the side frames 48 and 48′, is lit when the main switch 96 isin the “on” position to power the motor 200, regardless of whether thetemperature controls 92 or 94 are activated to provide any electricalcurrent to the heating members 28. The general pilot light 107 is inview even when the panel covers 40 and 40′ are closed

[0076] The temperature controls 92 and 94 allow greater control towardthe higher temperature ranges. Preferably temperatures of 140° F. arerequired for sanitation for the center of the product that is beingcooked upon the roller tubes, such as hot dogs, sausage, ground meat orthe like. The setting required to obtain the temperature of 140° F. forthe center of the product varies because of variance in product size andthe constituency of the product, and whether there is a cover over theproduct, such as a sneeze guard.

[0077] The sneeze guard 42 will now be described. Sneeze guard 42 can bemade of transparent plastic, such as polycarbonate. The sneeze guardcover 42 is shown mounted to the housing 24 in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 15.The sneeze guard 42 mounts in the same fashion to the housing 24′ ofFIGS. 16-18. Sneeze cover 42 has a generally flat roof 500 whichgenerally has left leg supports 502 and right leg supports 504. An openpassageway 506 is formed between the leg supports 502 and 504. Thepassageway 506 has a front opening 507 as well as a rear opening 508.Flaps 509 and 510 can be pivotally mounted about the passageway openings507 and 508.

[0078] More specifically, each legs support 502 has sloped side walls514 and 516 which, at their front and rear, have generallytriangular-like projected comers 518 and 520. The triangular comers 518and 520 extend inwardly at both the front and rear of the cover 42 sothat generally trapezoidal recessed areas 524 and 526 are located at thefront and rear of the cover 42, respectively, for receiving thegenerally trapezoidal-shaped flaps 509 and 510.

[0079] Triangular comer sides 532 and 534 angle inwardly towards thepassageway openings 507 and 508 so that the angled edges 540 and 542 ofthe flaps 509 and 510 fit to the interior of said comer sides 532 and534. At the upper ends of the sides 532 and 534 are holes 544 and 546which received projecting lugs 550 and 552 located at the top of theflap edges 540 and 542 as shown, for example, if FIG. 2. Because theplastic flaps 507 are flexible, one of the lugs, such as lug 550, can beinserted in a hole, such as hole 544, and the flap bent slightly so thatthe other lug, such as 552, can be inserted into hole 546. Each flap 507has an angled handle section 558 at its bottom for easy grasping thereofso as to pivot the flaps to the upward position such as illustrated inFIG. 15, so that the hand can be extended through the passagewayopenings 507 and 508 to grasp food located on the roller tubes 26. Theside walls 514 and 516 as well as the comers 518 and 520 extenddownwardly to the bottom of the cover 42 and project outwardly intohorizontal foot ledges 562 and 564 that have a width to cover the topwalls 150 and 126 of side frames 46 and 48. The horizontal foot ledges562 and 564 at their outer edges depend vertically into a toe sheetsection 566 and 568 which extends about the outside edges of frame topwalls 150 and 126 as well as frame front walls 130 and 104 and rearwalls 132 and 106. The toe section also extends about one inch inwardlyalong the frame inside walls 50 and 52 to form recesses 570 and 572 witha recessed trapezoidal outlined wall 574 that extends about each of thepassageway openings 507 and 508.

[0080] The cover 42 can be easily lifted by hand and totally removedfrom the housing 24 to allow inspection of the roller tubes. As can beseen, there is no interfering cross brace structure connecting the sidelegs 502 and 504 across the bottom portion of the passageway openings507 and 508, and thus the hand and arm can move easily through thosepassageways to grasp food on the roller tubes and to perform otheroperations.

[0081]FIGS. 20, 21 and 22 show another embodiment of a means 600 formounting the cover. FIGS. 20-22 show the means 600 to include the cover40′ having a projecting tab 260′ with a hole therethrough. Means 600includes a pin 601, which can be of steel, welded to the rear side ofcover 40′. Means 600 also comprises a biasing ensemble 602, shown inisolation in FIG. 20, that comprises a spring member 604 which has aboss 607. Spring 604 is shown in FIG. 20 as having an inverted “V” shapewith a first leg 610 which extends into a bight 612 that extends into asecond leg 615. The boss 607 extends outwardly from spring leg 615. Theensemble 602 can be made of spring steel, with the boss 607 formed fromthe leg 615 as by press stamping.

[0082] As seen in FIG. 22, the biasing ensemble 602 can be mounted withthe cover 40′. In doing so, the cover 40′ can be arranged with thehousing so that the boss 607 can be inserted through the hole of tab260′ and into the lock hole 286 in each of the frame side walls 50 and52. The spring leg 610 can then be moved to be to the side of pin 601that is closer to the tab 260′ so that the outer surface 618 of leg 610presses against pin 600. In this position, the other leg 615 is urged inthe direction towards tab 260′ so that the outer surface 620 of springleg 615 is urged against the inner surface of tab 260′. Boss 607 isthereby urged to maintain its position as shown in FIG. 22, and toremain in its corresponding hole 286 in the frame side walls 50 or 52.

[0083]FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of a tool and method for mountinga roller tube with the assembly. In FIG. 23, a tool 640 is employed.Tool 640 can be of spring steel. Tool 640 is elongated with an arcuatecross section, and is illustrated in the drawing as having a generallycylindrical shape, with a slot 642 separating its two longitudinal edges645 and 648. Tool 640 has a first end 651, and a second end 654, both ofwhich are of arcuate shape, and illustrated as generally being of apartially circular shape.

[0084] For purposes of illustration in FIG. 23, part of frame 46″ isshown, with a bearing fitting 164′ and an O-ring 166′ in place. Whereas,for purposes of illustration, the tool 640 is shown to the outside offrame 46″ in FIG. 23, the tool 640 can be inserted through the bearingfitting 164′ and O-ring 166″ from the opposite side, or interior side,of frame 46″. The tool 640 can be compressed by the hand so as to passthrough O-ring 166′ and bearing 164′, such as about ¼ to ½ inch pastbearing fitting 164′. Spring 640 can then be released by the hand sothat it expands outwardly to stretch O-ring 166′ to press it firmly intoits conforming bore section 182′ (not shown). In such position the tool640 is in a compressed state, and has a generally cylindrical shape, andits ends 651 and 654 have a generally circular shape. With the tool 640so positioned, the roller tube 26′ can be inserted from the position inwhich it is shown in FIG. 23, that is, from the outside of the frame46′, to pass into the tool end 651. Tube 26′ can continue to be insertedthrough tool 640 and through bearing fitting 164′ to extend about ½ inchbeyond the inside of bearing fitting 164′. Tube 26′ could be inserted alesser or farther distance if desired. After insertion to such point,the tool 640 can be grasped by the operator and slid away from tube 26′and frame 46″ toward the inside of the housing to thus become disengagedfrom tube 26″ and from bearing 164′ and O-ring 166′. Tube 26″ is thuspositioned to continue pressing the O-ring 166′ outwardly into itsconforming bearing bore 182′. Roller tube 26″ can thence be movedthrough the bearing fitting 164′ and O-ring 166″ until it is inproximity with the other frame 48″ (not shown). The process can then berepeated for inserting the tool 640 through the bearing fitting andO-ring in the other frame 48″, with the tool 640 being inserted throughsaid bearing fitting and O-ring from the outside of the other frame 98″.

[0085] In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objectsand advantages of the present invention have been achieved and otheradvantageous results have been obtained.

[0086] As various changes could be made in the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by letters patent is:
 1. A grill assembly for cooking human foodcomprising: (a) a housing, said housing comprising a support frame; (b)a plurality of tubular cooking members rotatably mounted with saidsupport frame; (c) means for driving the tubular cooking members torotate relative to the frame, comprising; (i) a drive chain; (ii) adrive member rotatably mounted to the frame, the drive member havingmeans for engaging the drive chain so that rotation of the drive memberin engagement with the drive chain pulls the drive chain; (iii) an idlermember rotatably mounted to the support frame, said idler member havingmeans for engaging the drive chain so movement of the drive chain inengagement with the idler engagement means rotates the idler member; and(iv) the tubular members having means for engaging the drive chain sothat movement of the drive chain in engagement with the tubular membersrotates the tubular members relative to the support frame.
 2. The foodgrill of claim 1, further comprising the support frame having astructural reinforcement member, and the idler gear being rotatablymounted to the reinforcement member.
 3. The food grill of claim 1further comprising a means for powering the rotation of the drivemember.
 4. The food grill of claim 3 wherein the power means comprisesan electric motor.
 5. The food grill of claim 1 wherein the drive membercomprises a sprocket, the idler member comprises a sprocket, and thetubular member engagement means comprising a sprocket at one end of eachtubular member.
 6. The food grill assembly of claim 2 wherein thestructural member has a first and a second extension, with an openingbetween the rear extensions, so that the drive chain can extend fromengagement with a tubular member and pass through the structural supportopening to pass about the idler member, and then extend through thestructural support opening to be engaged with the drive member.
 7. Thefood grill assembly of claim 1 further comprising a cover plate mountedto the support frame for covering the idler member and covering theengagement means of the tubular members.
 8. The food grill assembly ofclaim 1 wherein the drive chain is driven by the drive member to move ina direction from the tubular members thence toward and about the idlermember and thence toward the drive member.
 9. A grill assembly forcooking human food comprising: (a) a housing, said housing comprising asupport frame; (b) a plurality of tubular cooking members rotatablymounted with said support frame; (c) means for driving the tubularcooking members to rotate relative to the frame, comprising; (i) a drivechain; (ii) a drive member rotatably mounted to the frame, the drivemember comprising a sprocket for engaging the drive chain so thatrotation of the drive member in engagement with the drive chain pullsthe drive chain; (iii) an idler member rotatably mounted to the supportframe, said idler member having a sprocket for engaging the drive chainso that movement of the drive chain in engagement with the idlerengagement means rotates the idler member; (iv) the tubular members eachhaving a sprocket for engaging the drive chain so that movement of thedrive chain in engagement with the tubular members sprockets rotates thetubular members relative to the support frame, and (d) means forpowering the rotation of the drive member, comprising an electric motor,so that the motor can rotate the drive member so that the drive memberpulls the chain to move in a direction from the tubular members thencetoward and about the idler member and thence toward the drive member.10. In a grill assembly for cooking human food, said assembly having ahousing and a tubular cooking member rotatably mounted to the housing,said cooking member having a cylindrical outer surface, improvementscomprising: a sealing assembly comprising a bearing member, and anannular sealing member, the bearing member having a bore therethroughfor receiving the tubular member therethrough, the bearing member borehaving a section which has an annular recessed shape for receiving theannular sealing member, so that the bearing member and annular membercan be placed about the tubular member with the annular sealing memberheld against the outer surface of the tubular member.
 11. In the grillassembly of claim 10, wherein the annular sealing member is an O-ringhaving an outer curved surface, and wherein the section of the bearingmember bore that has an annular recessed shape has a semi-circularsurface shaped to receive the outer curved surface of the O-ring.
 12. Inthe grill assembly of claim 11, the bearing member further comprising anannular rim section having a flat annular surface for engaging a flatsurface of the housing.
 13. In the food grill assembly of claim 12,wherein the housing comprises a support frame having a wall with anopening therethrough, said wall having an interior surface: wherein thebearing member further comprises a sleeve that extends through the wallopening, the sleeve having an outwardly projecting flange shaped to fitagainst the interior surface of the wall.
 14. In the food grill assemblyof claim 11 wherein the bearing member is of plastic, and the O-ring isof rubber-like material.
 15. In the food grill assembly of claim 11,wherein the bearing member is of polytetrafluoroethylene.
 16. In thefood grill assembly of claim 11, wherein the O-ring is of siliconerubber.
 17. In a grill assembly for cooking human food, said assemblyhaving a housing having a support frame, said support frame having awall with a flat inner surface and a flat outer surface, the wall havingan opening therethrough, and a tubular cooking member for rotatablemounting to the support frame, said tubular member having a cylindricalouter surface, improvements comprising: a sealing assembly comprising abearing member comprised of plastic, and a sealing member comprising anO-ring comprised of rubber-like material having an outer curved surface,and wherein the bearing member has a bore therethrough for receiving thetubular member therethrough, said bearing member bore having a sectionwhich has an annular recessed shape with a semi-circular surface shapedto receive the outer curved surface of the O-ring, so that the bearingmember and O-ring can be placed about the tubular member with the innersurface of the O-ring pressed against the surface of the tubular member;and the outer surface of the O-ring fitting against the semi-circularsurface of the bore section, the bearing member further comprising anannular rim section with a flat annular surface for engaging the flatouter surface of the wall, the bearing member further comprising asleeve that extends through the wall opening, the sleeve having anoutwardly projecting flange shaped to fit against the inner surface ofthe wall.
 18. A grill assembly for cooking human food comprising: (a) ahousing, said housing comprising first and second support frames each ofwhich has a wall, and each of which has a first end and a second end;(b) a plurality of tubular cooking members each of which has first andsecond ends, and each of which has a central axis; (c) the support framewalls each having a plurality of holes sized to receive an end of atubular cooking member, the holes being arranged so that holes in thewall of the first frame are aligned with a corresponding hole in thesecond frame, with bearing members mounted with each said hole, thebearings shaped to receive and support an end of a tubular cookingmember, the wall holes being aligned so that the axes of the tubularmembers extend at an angle of about 3° to 5° from the first ends of theframes to the second ends of the frames.
 19. The food grill of claim 18,further comprising means for driving the tubular cooking members torotate relative to the frame, comprising: (a) a drive chain; (b) a drivemember rotatably mounted to the frame, the drive member having means forengaging the drive chain so that rotation of the drive member inengagement with the drive chain pulls the drive chain; (c) an idlermember rotatably mounted to the support frame, said idler member havingmeans for engaging the drive chain so that movement of the drive chainin engagement with the idler engagement means rotates the idler member;(d) the idler member having a central axis which central axis is inalignment with the axes of the tubular members so that the axes of thetubular members along with the axis of the idler member extend at anangle of about 3° to 5° from the first ends of the frames to the secondends of the frames.
 20. A tool for mounting an O-ring and a bearingfitting to a tube for a roller grill, said tube having a cylindricalouter surface and a cylindrical inner surface, the tool comprising: (a)a first tool section having a cylindrical outer surface having anoutside diameter slightly less than the diameter of the interior tubesurface so that the first section outer surface can be telescopicallyslid along the inner surface of the heating tube; (b) the tool firstsection extending into a second section having a cylindrical outersurface that is approximately the same diameter as the diameter of theouter surface of the heating tube so that the outer surface of said toolsecond section can be substantially aligned with the tube outer surfacewhen the tool first section is placed within the heating tube innersurface; (c) the tool having a third section that extends from thesecond section, said third section having a tapered shape with aproximal end that abuts an end of the second section, said proximal endof the third tool section having a diameter approximately that of thesecond tool section, the third section extending from its proximal endaway from the second section, the third section having a distal end thathas a smaller diameter than the proximal end of the third section, thesaid distal end of the third section sized to extend through the O-ringto allow the O-ring to be slid upon the outer surface of the thirdsection toward the second section so that the O-ring expands as itextends along said tapered surface to allow the O-ring to be slid uponthe surface of the second section.
 21. The tool of claim 20 wherein thefirst tool section has an annular shoulder about its juncture with thesecond section, so that the end of the heating tube can abut againstsaid annular shoulder when the first tool section is inserted inside theheating tube inner surface.
 22. A method for installing an annularO-ring and an annular bearing to a heating tube for a food cookinggrill, wherein the O-ring is made of rubber-like material, said heatingtube having a cylindrical shape with a cylindrical outer surface and acylindrical inner surface, comprising: (a) providing a tool, the toolhaving a first section with an outer cylindrical surface having adiameter approximately the same as the diameter of the inner surface ofthe tube; the tool having a second section extending from the firstsection, said second section having an outer cylindrical surface that isapproximately the same diameter as the outer surface of the heatingtube; the tool having a third section with a proximal end that extendsinto the second section, which proximal end has a diameter approximatelythe same as the diameter of the second section, the third sectionextending from the proximal end towards a distal end of smaller diameterthan the proximal end, so that the surface of the third section has atapered shape; (b) inserting the first section of the tool within thetube so that the outer surface of the tool first section telescopicallyslides along the inner surface of the tube, so that the second sectioncan be located against the end of the tube to allow the outercylindrical surface of the second tool section is substantially alignedwith the outer surface of the tube; (c) mounting the bearing to the foodgrill; (d) placing the O-ring within the bearing; (e) moving the tubeand the tool toward the bearing and O-ring until the O-ring extendsabout the third tool section; (f) continuing to move the tube and tooltoward the O-ring and bearing so that the O-ring expands as it slidesalong the tool third section until the O-ring is positioned about thesecond section of the tool; (g) continuing to slide the tool and tubetoward the O-ring and bearing until the O-ring fits about the outersurface of the tube to the seal thereabout, and the O-ring is mountedwithin the bearing.
 23. In the method of claim 22, further comprisingthe step of adding a lubricant to the surface of the tool third sectionprior to moving the tool third section so that the O-ring extends aboutthe tool third section.
 24. A grill assembly for cooking human foodcomprising: (a) a housing; (b) means for heating the food, said meansbeing mounted with the housing; (c) means for controlling heating of thefood; (d) the housing having a control panel connected thereto; thecontrol means being mounted in association with the control panel; (e) acover for the control panel; (f) means for pivotally mounting the coverto the housing so that the cover can be pivoted to a position to coverthe control panel, and to a position to uncover the control panel,comprising: a pin, means for movably mounting the pin to one of thecover or the housing, the other of the cover or the housing having anopening for receiving the pin, and means for biasing the pin toward theopening.
 25. The grill of claim 24 wherein the means for mounting thepin comprises structure associated with the cover providing a first holeand a second hole, the pin being sized to slide within said holes, thebiasing means being positioned between the first hole and the secondhole.
 26. The grill of claim 25 wherein the pin has a first shaftsection, the pin has a second enlarged shoulder section of largerdiameter than the shaft section, and the pin has a third engagementsection extending from the shoulder section in a direction away from theshaft, the biasing means comprising a spring having a first end and asecond end, the spring first end abutting the pin shoulder and thespring second end abutting the cover structure about the second hole, sothat the spring biases the pin shoulder in a direction toward the firsthole in the cover structure.
 27. The grill of claim 26 wherein theopening for receiving the pin is an opening in the housing, and thethird engagement section of the pin is biased in a direction toward thehousing opening.
 28. A grill assembly for cooking human foodscomprising: (a) a housing; (b) means for heating the food, said meansbeing mounted with the housing; (c ) means for controlling heating ofthe food; (d) the housing having a control panel connected thereto, thecontrol means being mounted in association with the control panel; (e) acompartment assembly associated with the housing for storing of fooditems; means for mounting the compartment to slide relative to thehousing, comprising the housing having a cavity with first interior walland a second interior wall, the compartment assembly having a framecomprising a first track member and a second track member, the distalends of the first and second track members being mounted with a cover,the frame also comprising a cross strut connected to the first track andthe second track so that an opening is formed between the tracks, thecross strut and the cover; a pan having walls with structure providingmeans for engaging the frame to be supported thereby, the pan beingsized to fit between the first and second interior walls of the housingcavity and to be received within the housing cavity, means for mountingthe tracks to slide relative the housing cavity so that the tracks canslide relative to the housing to a first position wherein the cover actsto cover the control panel, and a second position in which the cover ispositioned away from the housing and the pan is positioned to expose itto permit items to be removed by hand therefrom.
 29. The grill of claim28, further comprising a wall located between the heating means and thecavity, and wherein the heating means is positioned in proximity to thewall and to the cavity so that heat from the heating means warms fooditems contained within the pan when the tracks are in the said firstposition.
 30. The structure of claim 28 wherein the means for mountingthe tracks to slide comprises the first interior wall having rollerwheels rotatably mounted thereto, and the second interior wall havingroller wheels rotatably mounted thereto, and wherein the tracks comprisechannel-shaped members sized so that the first set of roller wheels canbe received within the first channel to roll therealong, and the secondtrack is shaped to received the second set of roller wheels so that thesecond set of wheels can roll therealong.
 31. A guard for covering foodlocated with a housing, comprising: (a) first and second legs, the legshaving side walls, the leg side walls extending upwardly into a topsection, each side wall having a bottom, each side wall having a firstend, and the side walls having an opening at the first end of the sidewalls that extends between and from the bottoms of the side walls to thetop section so that the side walls are separated from one another bysaid opening, the opening extending into a passageway located betweenthe sidewalls; (b) a flap, means for mounting the flap with the guard tobe movable relative to the side walls so that the flap can be moved to afirst position wherein the flap covers the opening, and moved to asecond position away from the first ends of the side walls to expose theopening to allow a hand to be extended through the opening into thepassageway to grasp food located on the housing.
 32. The guard of claim31 wherein the side walls have second ends, and a second opening locatedbetween the second ends of the side walls which opening extends betweenand from the bottoms of the side walls to the top section so that theside walls are separated from one another by the second opening, saidsecond opening extending into the passageway; a second flap, means formounting the second flap with the guard to be movable relative to theside walls so that the flap can be moved to a first position wherein theflap covers the second opening, and moved to a second position away fromthe second ends of the side walls to expose the second opening to allowa hand to be extended through the second opening into the passageway tograsp food located on the housing.
 33. The sneeze guard of claim 31wherein the guard has a void near each of the first ends of the sidewalls, and wherein the flap has a first side and a second side, with afirst lug projecting from the first flap side, and a second lugprojecting from the second flap side, the flap first lug extending inthe first void so that the first lug can pivot therein, and the secondflap lug extending within the second void so that the second lug canpivot therein.
 34. The guard of claim 31 wherein the side walls slantinwardly from their bottoms toward their tops, wherein the opening has atrapezoidal shape, and the flap has a trapezoidal shape.
 35. The guardof claim 31 wherein the first ends of the side walls have projectingfirst and second comers, respectively, wherein there is a first voidassociated with the first comer and a second void associated with thesecond comer, the flap having a first side and a second side, with afirst lug projecting from the first side and a second lug projectingfrom the second side, the first lug being received within the firstvoid, and the second lug being received within the second void, so thatthe first and second lugs can pivot within the first and second voids,respectively.
 36. The guard of claim 31 wherein the side walls each havea bottom, the bottom of each side wall being shaped to fit about thehousing to resist sliding movement of the sneeze guard relative to thehousing.
 37. The guard of claim 36 wherein each side wall has at itsbottom a foot ledge shaped to extend over part of the housing, each footledge having depending therefrom a toe section shaped to extenddownwardly about part of the housing.
 38. The guard of claim 33 whereinthe flap has a handle section formed integrally at the lower end of theflap.
 39. The guard of claim 33 wherein the flap is made of flexiblematerial so that when the first log is inserted within the first voidthe flap can be bent from side to side to reduce its width to allowinsertion of a second log into the second void.
 40. The guard of claim31 wherein the legs and top section and the flap are made of transparentplastic.
 41. A guard for covering food located with a housing,comprising: (a) first and second legs made of transparent plastic, thefirst leg having a first side wall and the second leg having a secondside wall, the leg side walls extending upwardly into a top section madeof transparent plastic, each side wall having a bottom; each side wallbottom having a horizontal foot ledge shaped to rest upon the housing,and a vertical toe section shaped to extend about the housing, to resisttransverse movement of the guard relative to the housing; each side wallhaving a first end, the side walls having an opening at the first end ofthe side walls that extends between and from the bottoms of the sidewalls to the top section so that the side walls are separated from oneanother by the opening, the opening extending into a passageway locatedbetween the side walls; the first end of the first side wall having aprojecting first corner having a void therein, and the first end of thesecond side wall having a projecting second comer with a void therein;(b) a flap made of transparent plastic, the flap being sized to coverthe opening, the flap having a first side and a second side, a first lugprojecting from the first flap side near the top thereof, and a secondlug projecting from the second flap side near the top thereof, the firstlug fitting within the first void to pivot therein, and the second lugfitting within the second void to pivot therein; so that the flap can bepivoted to a first position wherein the flap covers the opening, andpivoted to a second position away from the ends of the side walls toexpose the opening to allow a hand to be extended through the opening into the passageway to grasp food located on the housing.
 42. A grillassembly for cooking human food comprising: (a) a housing, said housingcomprising a first support frame and a second support frame; (b) aplurality of tubular cooking members having first and second endsrotatably mounted with the first support frame and the second supportframe, respectively, the tubular cooking members having housed withinthem an elongated heating member; each heating member comprising anouter heat conducting sheath having first and second ends and anelectrical heating element extending therethrough, said heating elementhaving first and second ends, the heating element having a wound spiralconfiguration, with the spacing between each of the spiral winds of theheating element being more compact at the areas near the first andsecond ends of the heating element than in the central part of theheating element, with each of the first and second ends of the heatingelement being connected with first and second electrical contacts,respectively; and heat dispersing material within the sheath surroundingthe heating element; (c ) first cover structure mounted with the firstframe to substantially cover the first ends of the roller tubes mountedto the first frame, and second cover plate structure mounted with thesecond frame to substantially cover the second ends of the roller tubesmounted with the second frame, the first cover structure having openingstherethrough sized to receive corresponding first ends of the sheathesto support the sheathes, and the second cover structure having openingssized to receive the second ends of the sheathes to support thesheathes.
 43. The grill assembly of claim 42 wherein mount strips aremounted to one of the cover structures, said mount strips havingopenings sized to receive a sheath end, and wherein an end of thesheathes extends through a corresponding mount strip opening to besupported thereby.
 44. The grill of claim 42 wherein the roller tubeshave surfaces covered with a layer of a polymer of tetrafluoroethylene.45. A tool for mounting an O-ring and a bearing fitting to a tube for aroller grill assembly for cooking human food, said tube having acylindrical outer surface, the tool comprising: a spring member havingan elongated shape, with first and second longitudinal edges of thecylindrical shape separated from one another; the tool having a firstend and a second end, each of which is of an arcuate shape; the springtool being compressible to lessen the distance between the first andsecond edges, so that in such compressed state the spring is biased toexpand outwardly, the spring being sized to be compressible to extendthrough the bearing and the O-ring and releasable to exert outwardlystretching forth upon the O-ring, the tool sized so that in its expandedposition within the O-ring, the inside diameter of the tool is ofslightly larger diameter than the outside surface of the roller tube sothat the roller tube can be moved longitudinally through the tool whenit is inserted within the O-ring and bearing.
 46. The tool of claim 45wherein the first and second ends of the tool have a generallycylindrical shape when the tool is compressed to be fit against theO-ring, the elongated shape of the tool having a generally cylindricalshape in such compressed state.
 47. The tool of claim 45 wherein thetool is made of spring steel.
 48. A grill assembly for cooking humanfood comprising: (a) a housing; (b) means for heating the food, saidmeans being mounted with a housing; (c) means for controlling heating ofthe food; (d) the housing having a control panel connected thereto; thecontrol means being mounted in association with a control panel; (e) acover for the control panel; (f) means for pivotally mounting the coverto the housing so that the cover can be pivoted to a position to coverthe control panel, and to a position to uncover the control panel,comprising: a spring having a first leg that extends into a bightsection, the bight section extending into a second leg, a boss extendingfrom the first leg, the cover having first structure with an opening forreceiving the boss, the cover also having second structure against whichthe second leg can be placed so that with such placement the first legis biased toward the opening in the first structure to press the bossthrough the opening in the first structure, the housing having anopening for receiving the boss to allow the cover to pivot relative tothe housing.
 49. The grill assembly of claim 48 wherein the boss isintegral with the first leg of the spring.
 50. The grill assembly ofclaim 48 wherein the second structure comprises the cover having a rearside with a pin projecting rearwardly therefrom, with the second springleg having an outer surface which can be placed against the pin, andwherein the second structure comprises the cover having a tab projectingrearwardly therefrom, said tab having an opening that receives the boss,the tab having an inside surface with the outside surface of the firstleg being placed to press thereagainst, so that the spring biasingaction presses the first leg outer surface against the tab innersurface, and presses the second leg so that its outer surface pressesagainst the pin.
 51. The food grill assembly of claim 48 wherein thespring member is comprised of spring steel.
 52. A method of installingan annular O-ring and an annular bearing to a heating tube for a foodcooking grill, wherein the O-ring is made of rubber-like material, saidheating tube having a cylindrical shape with a cylindrical outersurface, comprising: (a) providing a tool, the tool comprising a springmember with an elongated shape having an arcuate cross-section, the toolhaving a first edge and a second edge, the tool having a first end and asecond end each of which is of an arcuate shape, the spring beingcompressible to lessen the distance between the edges of the tool; (b)mounting the bearing to the food grill; (c) placing the O-ring withinthe bearing; (d) compressing the spring tool to lessen the distancebetween the edges of the tool sufficient to allow the spring tool to beinserted through the O-ring; (e) inserting the compressed spring toolthrough the O-ring and bearing fitting; (f) releasing the compressiveforce against the spring tool so that it can expand to press the O-ringoutwardly against the bearing fitting; (g) inserting a roller tubewithin the spring member and through the O-ring and bearing fitting sothat the roller tube extends past the O-ring and bearing fitting; and(h) moving the spring member away from the O-ring and bearing fittingand away from the roller tube to be disengaged from the roller tube.